Shinkūmyō (Kenji)
Shinkūmyō (空の存在, Empty Existance) are spiritual beings that have underwent a form of transformation involving the energy from s. The first known being to exhibit traits of a Shinkūmyō was Van Satonaka, though he eventually lost the abilities sometime during the First Spiritual War. Following the Collapse, which decimated the spiritual realms and killed countless, Sanada Shirono and Blake Shihōin are two of the only known Shinkūmyō in existence. History It is unknown when specifically the term "Shinkūmyō" was first coined, though the first individuals to successfully utilise the energy of the s for their own ends where the exiles of the fallen . United under and calling themselves the " ", they sought the destruction of the and conceived of a means of empowering themselves using the Blanks, but ultimately failed in their crusade.Bleach: Memories of Nobody The first Shinkūmyō used a similar method to the Dark Ones, albeit on a much higher scale; the result of which was a number of exclusive techniques and traits, chief amongst them the "Rin'ne".Desperate Stand: Averian Appears! Synopsis :Main article -- Bleach (Kenji Hiroshi). Part I :Main article -- Bleach: Sun and Moon Chronicles. Van Satonaka utilizes a slew of abilities and techniques different from those of a and when he first teamed up with Kenji Hiroshi to fight one of Averian's Battle Dolls, remarking that he will explain to Kenji what these powers are afterwards. The origin of these new abilities ultimately went unsaid but Kenji later theorized them to have been brought about by the Blanks, and commented to this effect in one of his research papers on the subject.Kenji's library Van still possessed these abilities when he came to Kenji's aid against Averian immediately prior to the outbreak of the First Spiritual War.Kickoff of the First Spiritual War Parts II & III :Main article -- Bleach: War of the Worlds & First Spiritual War. During a lull in the fighting near the beginning of the First Spiritual War, Kenji Hiroshi marks Sanada Shirono as a potential recruit for a specialised team with the goal of combating Averian, which would later become known as the Ryū Guard.Ryū Guard Kenji learns of Sanada's status as a Shinkūmyō as well as his history involving Shiki Shirono from Tadashi Kori and Shin Nagakura, as the two Captains wished to protect Sanada from the fallout surrounding the Shirono Massacre.Shirono Massacre Kenji and Sanada end up fighting to test one another's power and skill, with the two being more-or-less even. Sanada opts to throw his lot in with Kenji in order to defeat Averian, and becomes a team-mate to Shinrei Hiroshi, Kaimen Kazuki and Kenji himself; Kenji, in turn, promises to aid Sanada in bringing Shiki to justice.Meeting of Swordmasters: Kenji vs. Sanada Van, who had earlier utilised the abilities of a Shinkūmyō when fighting alongside Kenji against Averian, had undergone a number of changes by the time the pair teamed up against their shared foe once more. How Van lost these powers was a story the rivals never shared.Fate Plays its Hand: Meeting of Rivals He still retained the knowledge however and was the one responsible for tutoring Sanada in the more advanced aspects of Shinkūmyō combat, for Van himself often fought alongside the Ryū Guard. Part IV :Main article -- Bleach: Cataclysm. Part V :Main article -- TBA. Powers & Abilities General powers *'Mekura' (盲, Ignorance): high-powered energy blasts which can seemingly be fired from various body parts. Van, for example, fired these blasts using the tails of his Rin'ne form. *'Shōsho' (証書, Deed): the hardened skin of the Shinkūmyō which allows them to more easily shrug off incoming damage. It is by no means impregnable however as Averian successfully cut through Van's hardened skin during their first battle. *'Jikan' (サイレント, The Silent One): an ability which renders one invisible. *'Enhanced Sensory Perception:' Van demonstrated the ability to perceive The Outsider's suppressed energy when the latter arrived to break Hachi's seal on Averian. He was also capable of sensing the arrival of Anika, Tadashi and Shin. *'Unarikyō' (金切り声を叫び, Screech Cry): the Shinkyūmyō's Hohō technique. It allows for high-speed movement to be employed and is comparable in speed to an 's and a Tsuji's Kassō. Van's prowess with the technique was notably high. He was fit to save Kenji from Averian's attack, resulting in Kenji receiving only a graze to his cheek, which was something not even the Visored responded to. *'Kakumyo' (覚醒をクリア, Clear Awakening): a technique which opens a dimensional gateway to traverse the realms, though its usage is not limited to such. Van used it to move small distances almost instantly during his first battle with Averian. Van also demonstrated that this technique can bypass protective barriers. He used it to bypass the myriad barriers used by Hachi when he arrived to help Kenji fight Averian, though he complained at the barrier's strength. Release *'Rin'ne' (輪廻, Transmigration): a transformation technique which is released through the wielder's Zanpakutō, complete with its own release command and name. When using this ability, the Shinkūmyō combines their human form and their Blank form, increasing their power considerably. Van's Rin'ne resulted in a complete transformation of his body, which caused him to possess several tails and a fox-like exterior. Van later demonstrated successful use of not only his Shikai, Tsuyakeshi Hanabira, but also his Hollow mask in conjunction with his Rin'ne, which produced a state that had reiatsu equal to Kenji's Bankai. Known Shinkūmyō *Sanada Shirono. *Blake Shihōin. Former *Van Satonaka. See also *Shinkūmyō -- the original version of the page created by Seireitou. * -- the racial beings introduced in . * -- the location where Blanks eventually congregate. * -- a clan of s exiled from the who eventually found a means of using the energy of the Blanks to enhance their own. Behind the Scenes *This article was originally created by Seireitou a number of years ago. The current version of the page in use by him is available to view here: Shinkūmyō. *The version in use on this article was based on the information portrayed in an earlier version of Seireitou's article, which can be found here. It was recreated with Sei's approval for the retcon of Bleach (Kenji Hiroshi).Shinkūmyō thread References & notes